Non-Education Stories

Call to the Priesthood

We often only read about Catholic priests if they’ve done something wrong, but the vast majority of priests dedicate their lives to God, His followers and the faith. I shadowed two young men as they discerned the priesthood, a calling both received at an early age. One is positioned to become the Diocese of Venice’s youngest priest; the other had a change of plans.

Economy series

For a time, Lee County was the foreclosure capital of America, and it wasn’t just the housing market that crashed. What happened to the jobs? Agencies poured millions of dollars into incentive programs and businesses that failed to diversify the economy, and community leaders were not developing any answers. My eight-part series examined problems and solutions to get Southwest Florida back on track.

Bonita Flooding

Picture a giant bathtub, filled to the brim. Despite its enormity, the tub features just one tiny drain. To complicate matters, the faucet won’t shut off. Bonita Springs is the drain. The tub is a 315-square-mile waterlogged region of Southwest Florida. Rains from Tropical Storm Fay flooded the same low-lying neighborhoods that flooded in 1995, and my investigation found that government agencies spent $106.4 million in a failed attempt to keep the area high and dry.

Sheriff Analysis

When two bitter rivals, the current sheriff and his predecessor, squared off in the Republican primary, their campaigns turned personal. One said crime went down under his watch; the other refuted that claim. One said he reduced the payroll; the other disputed that. One alleged an affair; the other alleged that a secretary urinated in public. I wrote a “tale of the tape” piece that laid out their statements, then used public records, crime statistics and finances to analyze which candidate was sticking to the facts.